The bottom line is clear: Our vital interests in Afghanistan are limited and military victory is not the key to achieving them. On the contrary, waging a lengthy counterinsurgency war in Afghanistan may well do more to aid Taliban recruiting than to dismantle the group, help spread conflict further into Pakistan, unify radical groups that might otherwise be quarreling amongst themselves, threaten the long-term health of the U.S. economy, and prevent the U.S. government from turning its full attention to other pressing problems. -- Afghanistan Study Group

Baghdad:#1: Iraqi officials say gunmen have killed an electricity ministry employee, and seven people have been wounded in a string of attacks in Baghdad. Police and hospital officials say the gunmen intercepted the electricity ministry engineer's car in western Baghdad.

#2-5: Officials say four bombs also wounded seven other people in the capital on Monday, including two bodyguards protecting an education ministry adviser. The others wounded were a senior police officer, a Justice Ministry employee and three civilians.

#3: "An explosive charge blew off under a car belonging to a Justice Ministry official in southeast Baghdad's Za'afaraniya district, seriously wounding him and causing damage to his car," the security source told Aswat al-Iraq.

#4: "An explosive charge blew of on Monday, wounding a Traffic Police officer, with a maj.general rank, accompanied by a woman, who was also injured, while coming out of their house in southern Baghdad's Abu-Tayara district on Monday," the security source said, adding that the blast had caused damage to his house and car.

#5: In another incident, the security source said that another "explosive charge blew off close to the Collage of Education in central Baghdad's Waziriya district, wounding three civilians.

#6: He said that "another explosive charge, stuck in a civilian car on Mohammed al-Qassim's Highway in Baghdad, blew off wounding its driver and causing damage to his car."

#7: Four Iraqi civilians have been injured in an explosive charge blast in central Baghdad on Monday, a security source said. "An explosive charge blew off on Monday morning close to central Baghdad's People's Stadium, wounding four civilians," the security source added, giving no further details.

#8: Gunmen using silenced weapons opened fire on a car in Baghdad's southwestern Amil district on Sunday, killing one employee of a private security company and wounding another, an Interior Ministry source said.

#9: A sticky bomb attached to a car seriously wounded a cleric when it went off in western Baghdad on Sunday, an Interior Ministry source said.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"#1: Four people died in a suicide attack in Peshawar when a bomber walked in front of a marked police van and blew himself up, according to Pakistani government official Muhammad Siraj. Of them, one was a senior police official and three were police officers. Sixteen people were also injured in the attack, Siraj said. The casualties included police and civilians.

#2: A fourth police personnel was killed hours later when a bomb hit another police vehicle while on patrol in Peshawar, according to Shafi Ullah Kahn, a senior Pakistani police official. The second attack wounded three other officers.

#3-4: In the country's southwest, militants on motorcyles attacked and burned three oil tankers taking fuel to U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan on Sunday night, a Pakistani police official said. The attack took place 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Quetta in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, according to Noor Ul Haq. Sunday night's attack came hours after another group of militants on motorcycles torched two NATO supply trucks traveling through Baluchistan province that were also on the way to Afghanistan.

Diyala Prv:#1: A Member of northeast Iraq Diala Province's Mayorship has been assassinated by a group of unknown gunmen on Saturday, a Diala security source said. "A group of unknown gunmen broke through the residence of Diala's Mayorship Member, Abdul-Rahman Juma'a, opening machinegun fire and killing him on the spot," the security source said.

Kut:#1: Southern Iraq's Wassit Province's Anti-Explosives Force have managed to dismantle two Katusha rockets, reading for launching towards a residential area east of Kut city, the capital of the Province, whilst another force had discovered an ammunition dump, comprising 87 rockets of different sizes in the north of the city, a Wassit security source said on Friday.

Kirkuk:#1: In Kirkuk, gunmen wounded in a drive by shooting a civilian in Al Shorja region.

Mosul:#1: Two policemen and a civilian have been injured in a hand-grenade attack, targeted against a police patrol in eastern Mosul, whilst the security forces had managed to detain four persons, while they were loading a booby-trapped car in a service plant, a security source said on Friday. "A group of unknown gunmen threw a hand-grenade on a Ninewa Emergency Police patrol in eastern Mosul, that blew off, wounding two polilcemen and a civilian that happened to be in the venue of the blast," the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: A roadside bomb wounded two policemen and a civilian when it exploded near a police patrol in western Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#3: Iraqi soldiers defused a car bomb and arrested four suspects during a raid at a cement factory south of Mosul, Army Colonel Imad al-Din Abdul-Kareem said.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"#1: A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle packed with explosives rammed into a car carrying the deputy governor of Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province on Saturday, killing him and wounding three of his bodyguards, the Interior Ministry said. The attacker struck as the official, Abdul Latif Ashna, was being driven to work in the provincial capital, said a ministry spokesman, Zemeri Bashary.

#2: Up to five people are reported to have been killed and nearly 20 others injured in at least one vehicle explosion in northwestern Pakistan, not far from the border with Afghanistan. Reports quote officials as saying a vehicle exploded late on January 28 in the Kohat tunnel, which connects the main northwestern city of Peshawar to the southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sind provinces.

Four people have been killed and 19 injured in twin truck bomb blasts in Pakistan. A truck packed with more than 500 kilograms of explosives blew up inside a tunnel in north western Pakistan. A short time later, an oil tanker also carrying explosives was detonated outside the tunnel connecting Peshawar in Khyber Paktunkhwa Province to the city of Kohat. A passenger van travelling behind the tanker was destroyed. The explosion also severely damaged a check point operated by officers from the paramilitary Frontier Corps.

#3: Ten people including four policemen were injured Saturday when a car bomb targeting a senior police official exploded in the southwestern city of Quetta, police said. The bomb, planted in a Suzuki car, exploded as a police vehicle carrying Shaban Ali passed through the heart of Quetta, the capital of oil and gas rich Baluchistan province, senior police official Hamid Shakeel told AFP. "At least 10 people including four policemen and and six passers-by were wounded in the attack targeting Shaban Ali, who remained unhurt." Shakeel said.

#4-5: Elsewhere in the restive northwestern Khyber tribal region near the Afghan border, an improvised explosive device (IED) and mortar attack wounded three people including a soldier on Saturday.

#4: "The IED blast took place immediately after a convoy of security forces passed," top local administration official Shafeerullah Khan said.

#5: He added that a mortar fired from an undisclosed location landed near the Bara press club. "At least three people were injured in the two attacks."

#6: (update) In the latest attack on convoys in Pakistan carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan, unidentified men torched two NATO oil tankers in the Pinjra Pul area of Dhaddar in Balochistan. According to police sources, the oil tankers were going from Karachi to Chaman on Friday, when a group of men riding a motorcycle opened fire on them near the Marri Petrol pump, the Daily Times reports. The assailants intercepted the oil tankers, took out the drivers and then set both tankers on fire before escaping. Police reached the spot soon after the incident and cordoned off the area. A case has been registered against the unidentified persons and investigations are underway. Earlier, there have been similar attacks on the convoys carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan in Quetta, Naseerabad and Shikarpur areas of Pakistan. (ANI)

#7: Security forces, backed by helicopter gunships, have killed nearly a dozen militants in the tribal region of Mohmand on the Afghan border, where troops are carrying out small-scale operations against insurgents, government officials said on Saturday. Nearly two dozens militants have been killed in the past two days of fighting. There was no independent verification of the death toll and militants often dismiss official reports

#8: Four security guards were killed Saturday as their vehicle run over a mine in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, deputy to provincial police chief said. "Four security guards were killed when their car hit a roadside bomb in Nawa district west of provincial capital Lashkar Gah today at around 11 a.m. local time (0630 GMT)," Kamaluddin Shirzai told Xinhua. The police official said the ill-fated guards were serving for a local private security company.

#9: Twin bomb explosions have been reported on Saturday in the northwestern Pakistani tribal agency of Khyber, injuring several people, local sources said. According to the initial report, the first bomb explosion took place near the press club after which heavy firing was heard in the Bara Bazar area adjacent to Peshawar. Another blast rocked the same area minutes after the first one.

Baghdad:#1: Iraqi security forces cracked down on traffic in Baghdad neighborhoods Friday, stopping even vehicles carrying bodies of some of the 51 people killed by a car bomb the day before at a Shiite Muslim funeral. Shrapnel was still scattered across the streets in northwestern Baghdad where a near-riot broke out after the afternoon explosion Thursday when infuriated Iraqis pelted security forces with sticks and stones for failing to stop the deadly strike. Police and officials at three Baghdad hospitals said 123 people also were wounded by the booby-trapped car that was parked near a funeral tent. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to release the information.

#2: Unknown gunmen shot and killed an employee on Wednesday in western Baghdad, according to a security source. “The armed men opened fire using guns with silencers on an employee of the housing ministry while driving his car with his wife on al-Ghazaliya bridge, western Baghdad, killing him instantly,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The wife was seriously wounded and war taken to a nearby hospital in a serious condition,” he added, without giving further details.

#3: (update) The director of the foreign minister’s office was killed in Baghdad on Wednesday, according to a security source. “Unknown gunmen opened fire on Abduljabbar Abdullah Mukhtar, director of foreign minister’s office, while driving his car in al-Khadimiya region in Baghdad, killing him on the spot,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#4: Unknown gunmen killed an employee of the foreign ministry in western Baghdad on Wednesday, according to a security source. “An employee working for the foreign ministry was killed today by gunmen used silencer guns between al-Nussour square and 14 Ramadan street, western Baghdad,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. This is the second incident of its kind in Baghdad today as the director of Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari’s office was killed in al-Kadhimiya region, northern Baghdad.

#5: At least five persons, among them three policemen, have been injured in an explosive charge blast in southern Baghdad on Thursday morning, and one of the civilians have died, according to a security source. An explosive charge blew off on southern Baghdad's Rashid Camp road, targeting an Iraqi Federal Police patrol, wounding three of its men and two civilians, one of whom has died, along with damaging a patrol vehicle and a number of civilian cars, whilst the wounded were driven to a nearby hospital, the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#6: An Iraqi civilian has been killed and four others injured in an attack on a Finance Ministry motorcade in eastern Baghdad on Thursday, a security source said. "An explosive charge blew off on Thursday against a Finance Ministry motorcade in east Baghdad's Palestine Street, killing a civilian and wounding four others who happened to be close to the venue of the blast," the security source said, adding that the motorcade did not suffer any losses.

#7: One person was killed and seven others were wounded in a blast in southern Baghdad, according to a security source. "An improvised explosive device went off near al-Mashan compound, southern Baghdad, killing one civilian and injuring seven others, including three policemen," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "The blast was targeting a police vehicle patrol," he added.

#8: One civilian was killed and four more were injured in an explosion in eastern Baghdad, a security source said on Thursday. "The bomb exploded this morning targeting a motorcade belongs to the finance ministry in eastern Baghdad, killing a passing civilian and wounding four," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#9: A civilian was killed and three were wounded in an explosion in central Baghdad on Thursday, the third of its kind today in the capital, a security source said. "A roadside bomb went off near the old headquarters of the defense ministry in Bab al-Muaatham region, central Baghdad," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "The explosion killed one man and injured three and damaged a number of vehicles and stores," the source added.

#10: Two civilians were killed and seven more were wounded in a sticky bomb explosion in western Baghdad, according to a security source. "A bomb, attached to a small bus, went off near the market of al-Jihad neighborhood, western Baghdad, killing two and injuring seven," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#11: Five, including three federal police personnel, were wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast near their patrol in southern Baghdad on Thursday, a local security source said. “An IED went off near a federal police patrol, on al-Rasheed camp road, southern Baghdad, leaving three patrolmen and two civilians wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Mosul:#1: Unknown gunmen killed a civilian on Wednesday in western Mosul, according to a security source. "Unidentified gunmen killed the man in al-Islah al-Zeraaie neighborhood, western Mosul," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "The victim was a prisoner at the Bucca detention center and was released two years ago," he added.

#2: One civilian was killed and another one was wounded in a mortar shell attack in southwestern Mosul, according to a security source. “A mortar shell hit a house in al-Maamon neighborhood, southwestern Mosul, killing a civilian and injuring another one, from the same family,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, noting that the wounded was carried to a nearby hospital for treatment, while the body was sent to the morgue in Mosul.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"#1: Police and eyewitnesses say at least six people were killed in an explosion that rocked a grocery store frequented by foreigners in Kabul. Abdul Ghafar Sayedzada, chief of counterterrorism at the Ministry of Interior, says both Afghans and foreigners are among the dead in Friday's blast.

An attack by a suicide bomber on a busy Kabul supermarket close to the British embassy has killed eight people and wounded six, including up to three foreigners. Afghan security officials were still removing bodies from the upmarket Finest supermarket in the Afghanistan capital's diplomatic neighborhood as distraught relatives waited for news. Kabul's police chief, Mohammad Ayub Salangi, confirmed claims by witnesses that today's attack was carried out by a single suicide bomber.

Three foreigners and a child were among the dead, Kabul Police Chief Mohammad Ayub Salangi told reporters at the scene.

#2: Two gas pipelines and two oil tankers were blown up in Balochistan on Friday. Unidentified persons attacked the gas pipelines in the the Loti and Bograh colony areas of Sui. As a result, gas supply to the Sui plant was suspended. Repair work was immediately started by a team of engineers from the plant. The two oil tankers were torched at the Bolan Highway.

#3: Three persons, including two Afghan soldiers, were killed and four others injured in Khost province, 150 km southeast of capital Kabul, on Thursday, an army officer Ghulam Farooq Tarakhil said Friday. "A group of Afghan soldiers were on routine patrol in Tanai district on Thursday evening when a mine planted by militants struck their vehicle, leaving three persons, including two soldiers and one civilian, dead," Tarakhil told Xinhua. Four more people including a woman and three Afghan soldiers sustained injuries, he added.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

IED casualties in Afghanistan spike - The number of U.S. troops killed by roadside bombs in Afghanistan soared by 60 percent last year, while the number of those wounded almost tripled, new U.S. military statistics show. All told, 268 U.S. troops were killed by the improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, in 2010, about as many as in the three previous years combined, according to the figures, obtained by The Washington Post. More than 3,360 troops were injured, an increase of 178 percent over the year before.

Soldier from 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment killed in Afghanistan

Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: An official of Iraq's National Security Ministry had been killed by unknown gunmen in central Baghdad on Tuesday evening, a security source said on Wednesday. "A group of unknown gunmen have killed an official of Iraq's National Security Ministry, while driving his car in central Baghdad's Alawi District on Tuesday night," the security source said, adding that the "assassins have escaped to an unknown destination," giving no further details.

#2: A member of the pro-government al-Sahwa (Awakening) Forces was shot dead by a group of unknown armed men in northern Baghdad on Wednesday, a security source said. "A group of unknown gunmen have shot dead an al-Sahwa (Awakening) Member, while driving his car in northern Baghdad's Tarmiya district," the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Diyala Prv:
#1: Three children have been injured in an explosive charge blast against their house, for which they returned after forcing them to flee away from it in Baaquba city, the center of northeast Iraq's Diala Province, a security source said on Wednesday. "An explosive charge blew off in a house, belonging to a family in Gatoun district, south of Baaquba, who they returned to on Tuesday, after being forced to desert it due to violence acts during the past few years, wounding three children," the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: An Iraqi doctor was injured and his driver was shot dead in an attack by unknown armed men on their car in northern Baghdad on Tuesday, a security source said. A group of armed men have opened fire on Dr. Laith Khalid Hussein of southern Baghdad's al-Madaen Hospital and his driver in northern Baghdad's Uteifiya district, seriously wounding him and killing his driver, before they escaped to an unknown destination," the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Tuesday.

#3: Six Iraqi civilians have been injured in an explosive charge blast targeting a bus, carrying them through east Baghdad's Al-Shaab District, during their return from a visit to Karbala.

Kirkuk:
#1: “Two unknown persons stabbed a policeman in Arafa neighborhood, western Kirkuk,” he said, noting that the man was taken to the Kirkuk public hospital in a serious condition.

Riyadh:
#1: “Unknown gunmen opened fire on a civilian car early Monday near al-Humiera village in Riyadh district, southwest if Kirkuk, killing a Sahwa element and a civilian,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

The Iraqi army found the bodies in a car of two government-backed Sahwa members showing signs of torture and bullet wounds near the town of Riyadh, 50 km (30 miles) southwest of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, army sources said.

Mosul:
#1: In Nineveh, the oil productions company manager Othman Abdul Rahman was wounded in an armed attack in Palestine Street, eastern Mosul.

#3: “A civilian was seriously wounded in a blast in al-Hamadaniya region, east of Mosul,” the source added.

#4: Unknown gunmen kidnapped a contractor on Monday in eastern Mosul, according to a security source. “Unknown gunmen kidnapped a civilian contractor near his house in al-Muthanna neighborhood, eastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A civilian was killed Monday night during an operation conducted by Afghan and foreign troops in the northern province of Takhar, said Mullah Mohammed Omar, a district governor.

#2: Five militants were also killed in the operation in the Khoja Ghar district. 'Another civilian and several other insurgents were detained,' the governor said.

#3: In the southern province of Helmand, an airstrike by foreign troops Monday killed six Taliban commanders as they were distributing roadside bombs to other insurgents, the provincial governor's office said.

#4: Two insurgents were killed Monday by an ISAF airstrike in the southern province of Ghazni, the alliance said.

Monday, January 24, 2011

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from a roadside bombing in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, January 22nd. News reports that a Polish soldier and a Polish civilian medic died in Ghazni province.

Baghdad:
#1-2: Also Monday, police said two bombs in Baghdad killed an Iraqi Army intelligence officer and his driver and wounded eight bystanders in separate strikes that hit a Shiite and a Sunni neighborhood. Hospital officials in Baghdad confirmed the fatalities.

#1: A roadside bomb went off near the house of a brigadier general working for the cabinet, killing him and wounding an intelligence officer in the Ghazaliya district of western Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.

#2: A roadside bomb exploded near a petrol station and wounded eight people in Baghdads northwestern Shula district, an Interior Ministry source said.

Karbala:
#1-2: Two car bombs struck Shiite pilgrims Monday in an Iraqi holy city, killing at least 18 people as crowds massed for religious rituals marking the end of a 40-day mourning period for the Islamic sect's most beloved saint.

#1: The first attack occurred about 7 a.m. in a parking lot near busloads of pilgrims on the eastern outskirts of Karbala, 55 miles (90 kilometers) south of Baghdad. Police and hospital officials said that six pilgrims were killed and 34 people wounded in that attack. A second bomb was discovered nearby and dismantled before it could explode, police said.

#2: More than four hours later, a second car bomb struck pilgrims on the southern edge of the city, killing at least 12 people, including 10 pilgrims and two soldiers, and wounding 21, the officials said.

Tikrit:
#1: A roadside bomb exploded near Tikrit as Salahuddin provincial Gov. Ahmed Abdullah al-Jubouri's motorcade was driving by, wounding five of his bodyguards, said police spokesman Col. Hatam Akram. The governor was not hurt in the blast near Saddam Hussein's hometown, some 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A police chief (Ali Shah Paktiawal) in the eastern province of Nangarhar said Mullah Anwar, a Taliban commander, and 12 of his fighters were killed in the Khogyani district on January 23. He said Anwar had been behind numerous attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

#2: A series of unmanned U.S. drone strikes in a lawless district of Pakistan on Sunday killed at least 13 militants, officials said, as tribesmen took to the streets to protest the aerial campaign. The first two attacks took place in Datta Khel, some 40 kilometres west of North Waziristan's main town of Miranshah. The third was in Mando Khel, around 60 kilometres south of the town.

#3: Six Taliban militants were killed as Afghan and NATO-led forces conducted a search and cleanup operation in northern Lashkar Gah capital of Taliban hub Helmand province on Monday, an official said. "A combined unit of special operation force raided Taliban hideouts some 15 km north of Lashkar Gah in the wee hours of Monday as a result six militants were killed,"spokesman of provincial administration Daud Ahmadi told Xinhua. He also said that the joint forces also captured four injured militants during the operation in the province, 555 km south of Afghan capital Kabul.

#4: US forces shoot two Afghan workers of a stone mine in Logar province , local officials said. The incident happened yesterday afternoon in Babos area in the central Logar province and one other worker was wounded in the incident, Din Mohammad Darwish a spokesman for governor of Logar said. The dead bodies have been taken away by US forces, he added. US forces have yet to comment about the incident.

Two separate car bomb attacks on police patrols killed two officers and a bystander;

A bomb attack on the sewage department killed two people;

An attack on a bus carrying Shiite pilgrims in Kazimiyah killed one and injured nine

Ahlul Bahyt offers additional detail on some of the attacks, reporting that 8 people, including 4 officers, were injured in one of the attacks on a police patrol. They also report an attack "on the banks of the Tigris," which could be the one AP reports as attacking the sewage department but it is not clear. This is said to kill one person and injure six.

They also report on attacks in unspecified locations, apparently not in Baghdad, which don't seem to map onto any other reports I can find:

Two killed, and four injured in an explosion "25 km north of the capital." (This could be the attack in Taji.)O

In a separate car bomb attack, two teenage boys, aged 13 and 14, were killed when a roadside bomb targeting a militiaman exploded. (This could be the attack in Tarmiyah.)

After nine years, the international community needs to recognise it lacks knowledge, it lacks power, it lacks legitimacy. There is no confidence in the ability of the United States to sort this out. It no longer has the trust or the legitimacy. I think it is extremely unlikely that the United States is going to develop a coherent focused policy towards negotiation.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

The DoD is reporting a new death unreported by the military. Petty Officer Dominique Cruz was found presumably dead in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday, January 19th. after being reported missing on Tuesday January 18.

Kirkuk:#1: A joint Iraqi-US checkpoint has been attacked by unknown gunmen in southern Kirkuk's Leylan township on Friday night. A group of unknown armed men have opened fire on Friday from a fast car on a joint chekpoint of the Iraqi and American Emergency Police forces close to Leylan township on the main highway passing through the township, 15 kms to the south of Kirkuk, before escaping to an unknown destination," the said source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, adding that the security forces closed the road between Kirkuk and Leylan, searching for the attackers, but gave no further details.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"#1: Three suicide attackers detonated their explosives vests during a gunbattle with Afghan and coalition forces that left 10 militants and one civilian dead in Khost province of eastern Afghanistan. Provincial police chief Abdul Hakim Ishaqzia said the battle, which lasted several hours early Saturday morning, began after insurgents fired a rocket toward a group of Afghan and Nato forces who were preparing to go on patrol in the Sabari district. He said the joint force killed 10 militants and arrested 12 others. A civilian was killed and a woman and child were injured by the explosions caused by the suicide bombers.

#2: Three people including two paramilitary soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb blast in northwest Pakistan's tribal district of Orakzai, says officials. An improvised explosive device planted by militants went off in the town of Ibrahimzai during a routine patrol by paramilitary soldiers, a security official said on Saturday. "Two soldiers and one civilian were killed in the blast," Abdul Qadir, a local administration official, told AFP. Seven other people -- one soldier and six civilians -- were wounded in the explosion near the bazaar in Ibrahimzai, he said.

#3: Seven civilians were killed as a rocket struck a house in Ghazni province of Afghanistan on Saturday, an official said. "A rocket fired by militants struck a house in Khoza village of Muqar district at 01:30 p.m. local time today leaving seven civilians dead,"a local official told Xinhua but declined to be identified. Meanwhile, Barakatullah the police chief of Muqar district in talks with Xinhua confirmed the incident and said,"only two civilians were killed and five others including three children sustained injuries."

#4: An explosion in southern Afghanistan killed one Afghan policeman and injured nine others, official said Saturday. 'The blast took place in Nahr-e-Saraj district, where a joint operation of Afghan and NATO-led forces is going on,' provincial government spokesman Daud Ahmadi said. 'A roadside bomb struck a police vehicle in the southern province of Helmand today killing at least one policeman and injuring nine others.'

#5: Airstrikes conducted by NATO-led forces in Afghanistan's Laghman province 260 km east of capital city Kabul left over 10 militants dead on Friday, the military alliance said Saturday. "Coalition forces targeted the Taliban shadow district governor for Hisarak, Laghman province, killing more than 10 insurgents with two precision air strikes in the province yesterday,"the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force ( ISAF) said in a press release issued here.

Afghan Political Crisis Grows as Legislators Vow to Defy Karzai and Open Parliament

Reported security incidents

Kirkuk:#1: Security forces found on Friday two explosive charges planted near houses in west of Kirkuk, a security source said. “Policemen found the two bombs planted near houses in al-Dabs district, west of Kirkuk,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"#1-3: Militants have set fire to at least four trucks carrying fuel supplies for US-led troops in Afghanistan in separate incidents in southwestern Pakistan.

#1: The first incident happened in Qalat town, 160 kilometers south of Quetta, on Friday. "Three men riding a motorcycle intercepted the three tankers, threw petrol and set them on fire," local police official Lal Jan told AFP.

#2: In the second attack, two men torched another oil tanker of US-led troops in Mastung district, 40 kilometers south of Quetta, Jan added. According to the local officials, there was no loss of lives in the two incidents.

#3: In the third incident in Wadh town, 370 kilometers south of Quetta, gunmen opened fire on a US-led troops' truck carrying fuel. The truck driver and his assistant were wounded in the attack.

#4: A bomb on Friday killed two guards assigned to protect a provincial leader in southern Afghanistan. Amanullah Hotak, the head of the provincial council in Uruzgan province, said the remote-controlled bomb attached to a bicycle was detonated as his vehicle traveled past it. He said he escaped injury, but that two other body guards were injured in the blast. The incident occurred in Dihrawud district, a dangerous area in the south of the province.

#5: More than 10 Taliban have been killed during a 2-day operation in the northern Faryab province of Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a press release on Thursday. The press release said the ISAF-Afghan combined forces had launched military operations against Taliban in Khwaja Kinti village in Qaisar district of Faryab province on Tuesday and Wednesday, adding more than 10 Taliban were gunned down in the operations. The press release did not say anything about casualties to the combined forces.

#6: Meanwhile, the Taliban Thursday claimed to have killed four drivers, besides damaging three vehicles of a logistic convoy of the foreign forces in an attack in Andar district of Ghazni province. The Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) their fighters attacked a logistic convoy of the foreign forces in Abu Kala area of Andar district early today, leaving its four drivers dead and three guards injured. He said three vehicles of the convoy were also destroyed in the attack. The Andar District Chief Sher Khan Yousafzai, when contacted by the AIP, confirmed the attack, and said one vehicle of the logistic convoy was torched in the incident. He rejected the Taliban spokesman’s claims regarding casualties and told AIP the drivers and guards of the convoy did not suffer casualties in the incident.

#7: Six people were killed Thursday when suspected Taliban militants ambushed a convoy of a Hungarian oil company in Pakistan's northwestern region, security officials said. The incident took place in the Kohat district of the militancy-plagued northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Khalid Omarzai, the top civil administrator in Kohat, told DPA by phone that four employees of the Hungarian oil company, MOLE, were travelling from Kohat to Peshawar, the provincial capital, when an unknown number of attackers struck. "One driver and one labourer from the MOLE company were killed while ... two engineers were abducted," said Omarzai. The soldiers from paramilitary Frontier Corpse chased the attackers and, during an exchange of fire, four troops were killed. The two abducted engineers were Pakistani nationals. An intelligence official, however, said that the four soldiers were killed during the ambush, not during a chase. "There were two vehicles in the convoy. One was carrying the oil company employees and the other the FC soldiers. The attackers attacked both. There was no chase," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Baghdad:#1: One civilian was killed and 10 others were wounded in an explosion that targeted Shiite visitors in southern Baghdad, according to a security source. "The bomb exploded in Alwat al-Rashied region in al-Doura, southern Baghdad, targeting Shiite visitors, killing one and injuring ten," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: At least 13 people were wounded on Wednesday night by random celebratory gunfire after Iraq's national soccer team beat North Korea 1-0 during the Asia Cup tournament in Qatar, an Interior Ministry source said.

Diyala Prv:#1: A suicide bomber drove a car into a police headquarters on Thursday in Iraq's volatile Diyala province, killing at least three people and wounding around 30 in a third day of attacks on security forces, police said. The bomber blew up the car at the main gate of the police headquarters in the city of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, two police sources said. Ghalib al-Jubouri, a police spokesman in Diyala, said the attack took place in the centre of the city near government buildings, including the police headquarters. He said one of the three killed was a traffic policeman. A police source in Baquba said at least two of the dead were policemen, while four among the wounded were also police. "Ambulances are still carrying the wounded," said Faris al-Azzawi, a spokesman for the provincial health department. He said three people were killed in the blast, and 28 were wounded.

#2: "A roadside bomb went off targeting a convoy of Shiite visitors while passing Kanaan district in Baaquba, killing a civilian and wounding ten," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Karbala:#1: A pair of car bombs blasted through security checkpoints ringing the Iraqi holy city of Karbala Thursday and killed at least 51 people, most of whom were Shiite pilgrims headed to observe yearly religious rituals. Authorities estimated as many as 183 people were wounded in the near-simultaneous blasts set off by suicide bombers driving cars packed with explosives. Ali Khamas, a pilgrim from the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City in Baghdad, said he saw a car speeding toward one of the checkpoints, its driver refusing to stop despite warnings screamed by Iraqi soldiers.

Baiji:#1: A roadside bomb went off near the convoy of Lieutenant Colonel Salah Mohammed, head of a police unit in Baiji, 180 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, on Wednesday, and wounded two of his guards, police said.

Kirkuk:#1: Two people were wounded on Wednesday night by random celebratory gunfire in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, a police source said.

Mosul:#1: “Unknown gunmen killed a civilian in front of his apartment in al-Yarmouk neighborhood, western Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: “Two people were wounded in a bomb explosion in al-Islah al-Zerai region, eastern Mosul,” the source added, without giving more details.

#3: Two suicide bombers were killed in a bomb blast in southwest of Mosul on Wednesday, a police source said. “Policemen opened fire on a vehicle while attempting to hit a police checkpoint in Tal Atta region, southwest of Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"#1: NATO and Afghan forces killed more than 10 insurgents in two days of fighting in northern Afghanistan, the alliance said Thursday. The operation in Faryab province was aimed at disrupting Taliban cells that have moved freely in the area, the statement said. The troops searched many houses without incident but were fired on from some compounds and returned fire, the statement said.

#2: No Bulgarian troops were injured in a Taliban attack on the Kandahar air base in Afghanistan, the Defence Ministry said on its website on January 20 2011. Two missiles were fired at the compound on January 19, one at 6.42pm and the second at 6.48pm Afghan time (4.12pm and 4.18pm Bulgarian time, respectively), the report said. There was no damage reported, or casualties among the personnel.

#3: At least seven persons were killed in Landikotal, Dara Adamkheil and Charsadda and three others received injuries at the hands of militants for spying against them and in cross firing incidents on Wednesday, official sources said. According to details, three dead bodies were recovered from Landi Kotal Bazaar who were killed by militants on charges of spying and supplying oil to the Nato forces stationed in Afghanistan. Law enforcement agencies officials said the dead were truck drivers. Two more persons were killed by the militants on charges of spying and threw their bodies in Bostikheil area of Dara Adamkheil. “A letter was also found with the dead bodies wherein it was the militants said that those spying for the US will meet this fate,” sources said. In Charsadda, two persons were killed and three sustained bullet injuries when two rival groups engaged themselves in a pitched battle. The injured were shifted to nearby hospital for medical treatment by the locals.

Baghdad:#1: An army soldier and a civilian were wounded on Tuesday in an armed attack by gunmen in western Baghdad, according to a security source. “Unknown gunmen attacked an army checkpoint in al-Yarmouk neighborhood, western Baghdad, injuring a soldier and a civilian, who were carried to a nearby hospital for treatment,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Five Shiite pilgrims were wounded on Tuesday in a bomb blast in northern Baghdad, according to a security source. “The bomb exploded today targeting the Shiite visitors in al-Mushahada region, northern Baghdad, wounding five persons, who were carried to the hospital for treatment,” he added, without giving more details.

Diyala Prv:#1: A suicide bomber rammed an ambulance packed with explosives into a security headquarters on Wednesday, killing 13 people in the second major attack against Iraqi forces in as many days. "We have so far received 13 bodies, and are treating 64 wounded," said Firaz al-Dulaimi, a doctor at Baquba hospital, referring to the first attack on Wednesday morning in the Diyala provincial capital. The 10:00 am (0700 GMT) bomb in the middle of Baquba, a restive ethnically mixed city north of Baghdad, targeted an office of the Force Protection Service (FPS), the agency responsible for securing government buildings.

#2: A second suicide attack in a nearby town killed two others and wounded a top provincial official, shattering a relative calm in Iraq following the formation of a new government by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki last month. About 90 minutes later in the nearby town of Ghalbiyah, a suicide bomber blew up his explosives-filled car in the midst of a crowd of Shiite pilgrims, killing two and wounding 16 other people, an official in the provincial security command said. Among the wounded were Diyala deputy governor Sadiq al-Husseini and three of his bodyguards, and two media employees of local satellite channel Diyala TV.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"#1: An unknown assailant has sprayed acid in the face of a prominent Afghan journalist and author in what officials and the victim say is retaliation for his politically charged writing. Razaq Momoon says he was walking near his house in a residential neighborhood of Kabul on Tuesday evening when a man ran up behind him and threw acid in his face. He says he was wearing glasses, which kept his eyes relatively protected. Momoon spoke Wednesday to an Afghan television station. He was not critically injured, but his face was splotchy with red and black patches as he spoke from his hospital bed in the capital.

#2: THIRTEEN Afghan civilians were killed when their motorised rickshaw hit a roadside bomb in south-eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, officials said, the latest casualties of escalating violence in the near decade-long war. The latest incident took place in the Khoshamand district of Paktika, a volatile province bordering Pakistan. Thirteen villagers were travelling to the district centre for medical treatment when the bomb struck, the provincial governor's spokesman, Mukhlis Afghan said.

#3: At least one person has been killed and more than 15 others injured when a bomb planted in a horse-drawn cart exploded near a school in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar on Wednesday morning, according to local news reports. The lone person killed in the bomb explosion was reportedly a pedestrian. The reports quoted local officials as saying that most of those injured in the blast were school children aged between five and eight years.

#4: At least five suspected militants were killed on Tuesday after a U.S. drone attacked a compound in northwest Pakistan's tribal area, Dawn News reported. Officials in Peshawar, the capital of the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, confirmed the attack and death toll, but few other details were immediately released.

#5: Three soldiers were killed and three others were injured in a rocket attack by terrorists on Tuesday, security officials said. The rocket attack took place at a security forces camp in Razmak in North Waziristan tribal district bordering Afghanistan. “At least three soldiers were killed and three others were wounded in a rocket attack,” a senior security official said. “This is the work of Taliban,” he added. Another security official in Miranshah confirmed the incident and said that three soldiers were killed and three others were injured in the attack.

#6: Also Wednesday, a roadside bomb in southern Zabul province killed four border police officers who were patrolling the area, said Gen. Abdul Raziq, the commander for border police in the south. He said the officers struck the bomb in their truck while driving through Shamulzoh district.

#7: In western Herat province Tuesday night, a rocket hit a civilian house during a firefight between insurgents and NATO forces in the area, government spokesman Shafiq Berozyan said. One child was killed and another 10 people were wounded, he said.

#8: An explosion rocked the town of Spin Boldak district in Kandahar province, 450 km south of Afghan capital Kabul on Wednesday, casualties feared, police said. "A suicide bomber attempted to target security forces in Spin Boldak district this morning at around 11:00 a.m. local time but the police identified and opened fire seriously injured him," Abdul Razeq the commander of Border Police in Spin Boldak district told Xinhua. "The bomber before taking his last breath exploded his explosive device strapped in his body and died on the spot," Razeq added. There were no casualties on police and civilians, the police officer emphasized.

#9: Twelve Taliban insurgents were killed and six others injured as their explosive device went off in Afghanistan Faryab province 425 km northwest of capital Kabul, Interior Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. "The militants were busy in making roadside bombs in a compound in Totak village of Ghormach district late Tuesday night but suddenly their explosive material went off as a result 12 militants were killed and six others sustained injuries," the statement said.

Baghdad:#1: One civilian was killed by an improvised explosive device in western Baghdad, a security source said on Tuesday. "An improvised explosive device went off late Monday (Jan.18) inside a supermarket in al-Jameaa neighborhood, western Baghdad, killing the owner and damaging the supermarket," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: "Anti-explosives department managed to defuse another bomb, planted near al-Badiya school in al-Khaleej neighborhood in southeastern Baghdad, without casualties," he said.

#4: "The second bomb exploded in al-Sidiya region, southern Baghdad, targeting a police vehicle patrol, injuring a civilian and a policeman and damaging the vehicle," he added.

#5: "A Sahwa official survived an assassination attempt when a bomb exploded near his car, injuring two of his companions, who were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment," the source noted.

Iskandariya:#1: One civilian was killed on Monday in a bomb explosion in north of Babel, according to a security source. “An improvised explosive device went off on Monday near a civilian vehicle in a al-Aasriya region in al-Askandariya district, north of Babel, killing a civilian and damaging more than five vehicles,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Two children were wounded in a bomb explosion in north of Babel on Monday, a security source said. “The two children were playing with the bomb, from the remains of the U.S. war on Iraq, near their house in al-Buhairat region in al-Askandariya district, northern Hilla, when it went off,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Tikrit:#1: A suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vest in a crowd of police recruits on Tuesday, killing at least 45 people, officials said. The death toll was still rising more than three hours after police said the bomber joined a crowd of more than 100 recruits and blew himself up outside the police station in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, some 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad. Tikrit police put the death toll at 45, with 140 wounded. Dr. Anas Abdul-Khaliq of Tikrit hospital confirmed the casualty figures.

Mosul:#1: Police forces found three female Yazidi bodies in north of Mosul, a media spokesman of the al-Shikhan district said on Monday. "Policemen found late Sunday (Jan. 16) three bodies of a mother, her daughter and her sister, on the road between Talkief and al-Shikhan districts, north of Mosul," Amin Khalaf told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "The three women are from the Yazidi sect," he added, noting that this is the first incident of its kind in the region.

#2: Iraqi army forces found on Monday an unknown body of a young man in eastern Mosul, according to a security source. “A force from the Iraqi army found today a bullet-riddled body of a young man in eastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"#1: Afghan forces killed 27 militants and wounded 13 others in Taliban hotbed Helmand province in an operation on Monday night, said a statement released here by the military Tuesday. "The operation was launched Monday night against Taliban rebels in the districts of Sangin, Musa Qala and Gereshk during which 27 insurgents including two commanders were killed and 13 others sustained injuries," the statement released by 215 Maiwand Corps added. According to the statement, 13 militants were killed in Gereshk district, 12 others were killed in Sangin and two in Musa Qala. The statement also said 10 militants sustained injuries in Gereshk and three others in Sangin during the operation. There were no casualties on the troops, the statement contended, adding keeping pressure on militants would continue.

#2: An oil tanker carrying fuel for NATO troops in Afghanistan has been gutted after a bomb planted in the vehicle exploded in northwestern Pakistan, officials said. The blast took place late Monday at a terminal near the Torkham border crossing in lawless Khyber tribal district, local administration official Iqbal Khattak told AFP. "Around 25 tankers were parked at the terminal. Militants planted a bomb in one of the tankers which exploded triggering a fire," he said. It was not immediately clear if the bomb was a remote controlled device or fitted with a timer, he said. A security official confirming the incident said other tankers were saved and there were no casualties.

Monday, January 17, 2011

MNF-Iraq (OND) is reporting the deaths of two U.S. service members from small arms fire by an apparent Iraqi Army soldier at the Ghazlani Training Center, Ninevah province, Iraq on Saturday, January 15th. One additional soldier was wounded in the attack.

Baghdad:#1: Three civilians have been injured in an explosive charge blast in southern Baghdad on Monday, a Baghdad security source said. "An explosive charge, planted by unknown gunmen, blew off on the main road passing through west Baghdad's al-ilam district, wounding three civilians," the security source added.

Mosul:#1: An armed man stormed a private hospital, and wounded a Christian doctor with a gun equipped with silencer, on Sunday in eastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

Al Anbar Prv:#1: The governor of Iraq's western Anbar province on Monday survived at least a fourth assassination attempt in just over a year, escaping unharmed a suicide attack that left six people wounded, police and health officials said. Gov. Qasim al-Fahadawi, a former businessman who has friendly ties with the U.S. military in Anbar, lost an arm and underwent intensive surgery to rebuild his leg after a suicide bomber struck his Ramadi office in December 2009. Monday's attack took place in Ramadi, the provincial capital located some 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Baghdad, when the bomber rammed his car into al-Fahadawi's 12-vehicle convoy. Al-Fahadawi was not hurt in the blast, but three of his guards and three bystanders were wounded, a police official said. A health official confirmed the casualties.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"#1: An explosion ripped through a minibus traveling in a militant-infested area of northwestern Pakistan on Monday, killing 18 people, police said. There were conflicting reports of whether the blast was caused by a bomb or by the gas cylinder used to power the vehicle. The bus was traveling between the cities of Hangu and Kohat, which are located close to Pakistan's lawless tribal region. The explosion tore apart the vehicle, killing all 17 people on board, and tipped over a second bus nearby, said Hangu police chief Abdur Rasheed. One person on the bus that tipped over was killed and 11 others were wounded, he said. Rasheed said the blast occurred when the gas cylinder on board malfunctioned. But the top police official in the region said explosives were used to trigger the explosion.

#2: Unidentified assailants torched two NATO oil supply tankers in Qallat a district of Balochistan. According to the sources, the unidentified assailants first opened indiscriminate firing at the oil tankers at Sorab area of the district and later on, they set ablaze the oil tankers. According to the levy force sources, the assailants were succeeded in fleading the scene after the attack.

IRIN discusses "enforced disappearances" in Iraq -- meaning that the government grabs people and holds them in secret, and maybe tortures or kills them. Somewhere from 250,000 to a million Iraqis have disappeared since 1980, but it didn't stop with the installation of the new constitution.

A recent Amnesty International report said “an estimated 30,000 untried detainees are currently being held by the Iraqi authorities, although the exact number is not known as the authorities do not disclose such information.” In addition, there are detainees held at secret facilities, at which torture is common, it said.

A further 23,000 previously held without charge or trial by US forces are currently being transferred to the Iraqi authorities or released, though Amnesty International believes “[a state cannot] claim to be treating detainees humanely while knowingly handing them over to torturers, any more than it can knowingly `release’ detainees in a minefield and claim that their safety is no longer its responsibility.”

Obviously it's not possible to know what King, if he were alive, would think of any piece of U.S. foreign policy. But his political philosophy, as outlined in his landmark 1967 speech against the Vietnam War, strongly suggests that he would be an opponent of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and, for that matter, the secret wars in Yemen and Pakistan.

Remember, this is the speech in which King assailed the U.S. government as "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." He targeted the "the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism." He opposed the U.S. for dropping "thousands of bombs on a poor, weak nation more than 8000 miles from its shores." And:

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Reuters is reporting the death of a U.S. soldier while "conducting combat operations" somewhere in central Iraq presumably on Friday, January 14th

Reported security incidents

Baghdad:#1: A policeman and a civilian have been injured in an explosive charge blast in northern Baghdad's Aadhamiya district on Saturday, a security source said. "An explosive charge blew off in Antar Square of northern Baghdad's Aadhamiya district, seriously wounding a policeman and a civilian," the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, giving no further details.

Diyala Prv:#1: An Iraqi army soldier was wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast northeast of Baaquba city on Friday, a local security source said. “An IED blast targeted an army patrol in the area of Mandili, Khanaqin district, northeast of Baaquba, leaving one solider wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Mosul:#1: Two Iraqi soldiers opened fire on U.S. troops in the northern city of Mosul Saturday, wounding three of them, Iraqi army and police sources said. They said the incident occurred while U.S. soldiers were training an Iraqi military unit at al-Ghazlani U.S. military camp in southern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad. "Two soldiers from Iraq's 11th brigade, 3rd division, opened fire during training conducted by American forces inside a U.S. military base and wounded three soldiers," said one military source, who declined to be named. Another military officer and a senior police official confirmed the incident.

#2: A policeman on a leave of absence from duty was killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) attached to his vehicle went off southeast of Mosul city on Friday, a security source said. “The IED, which was attached to the policeman’s civilian vehicle, went off in al-Nimrod district, (40 km) southeast of Mosul, leaving him killed,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"#1: NATO says a U.S. Marine has shot and killed an Afghan policeman after an argument in southern Afghanistan. The military coalition said the two men had a dispute Saturday at a patrol base in Sangin, a volatile district of Helmand province. It says that after the dispute, the Afghan policeman reportedly made threats and handled his weapon carelessly. The Marine reported the behavior to his superiors. NATO says the Afghan policeman left his post, but returned and pointed his gun at the Marine, who shouted at him to put the weapon down. The coalition says that when he didn't, the Marine fired two rounds, killing the Afghan policeman.

#2: At least 16 NATO oil tankers were torched by unidentified attackers in Pakistan's Balochistan province, a media report said Saturday. The incident occurred Friday night in the Mangoli area of Dera Murad Jamali city in which one of the drivers was injured, while the fire also engulfed a nearby hotel, The Express Tribune reported. Sources said the attackers also fired gunshots and managed to escape after a crossfire with the police.

Gunmen in Dera Murad Jamali set ablaze 16 vehicles carrying fuel supplies for Nato troops in Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said. The convoy was attacked before dawn outside the town of Dera Murad Jamali, some 400 kilometres southeast of Quetta, the capital of restive Baluchistan province, local administration chief Abdul Fatah Khajjak said. "The attackers, riding in a car, opened fire on oil tankers parked at a petrol pump waiting for daybreak to resume their journey to Afghanistan," Khajjak said. Some 16 oil tankers caught fire, but two more parked a distance away were undamaged, he said. One of the fuel tanker staff was wounded by the gunfire.

#3: Seven Afghan taxi drivers were killed on Friday after insurgents accused them of spying for the government, forced them into a vehicle and made them drive it over a roadside bomb, a government official said. Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar, spokesman for the governor of southern Zabul province, said the taxi drivers transported people between Zabul and neighbouring Kandahar province. He said they were beaten by the insurgents before being forced into a vehicle and made to drive over a roadside bomb, adding that their taxis were also burned.

#4: An electricity tower was destroyed in a blast that took place Saturday afternoon near the city of Peshawar in northwest Pakistan, said local sources, adding no casualties were reported.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Baghdad:#1: A jeweler was killed and a civilian was wounded on Thursday by gunmen in western Baghdad, a police source said. “Unknown gunmen opened fire using guns with silencers on a jeweler in al-Sidiya region, western Baghdad, killing him instantly and wounding another civilian,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Basra:#1: A total of 13 members of al-Qaeda armed group managed on Friday to escape from a detention center in Basra despite the tough security measures, according to a lawmaker from the National Alliance.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"#1: Gunmen stormed the house of a female police officer, killing her and four relatives, in an unusual attack in northwest Pakistan, police said Friday. The attack happened Thursday night in Hangu, a district just outside the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.

#2: Also Friday, Afghan officials denied Pakistani claims that Afghan troops carried out a cross-border mortar attack that killed eight people in a Pakistani tribal region. NATO said its initial reports indicated foreign troops played no role, either. The mortar shells hit Tity Mada Khel village in North Waziristan, according to Pakistani intelligence officials. The dead included five men and three women, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Eleven people were wounded.

Baghdad:#1: One of the explosions occurred in western Baghdad near a mosque where the interfaith group officials were meeting. Two people were wounded in that attack.

#2: Another explosion killed one civilian and wounded four others outside a Shiite mosque in central Baghdad.

#3: One more blast hit outside a Sunni mosque in northeastern Baghdad, wounding three people.#4: Another explosion was near a Sunni Shrine in central Baghdad, and killed one civilian and wounded five others.

Irbil:#1: Kurdistan’s Asayesh forces seized on Wednesday a big weapons depot in Arbil, Asayesh said in a statement.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"#1: TRIBAL rebels blew up a gas pipeline in Pakistan's insurgency-hit southwestern province of Baluchistan, cutting supplies to several areas in cold weather, officials said. The pre-dawn blast today damaged the main pipe bringing gas from Jafarabad district to the provincial capital Quetta and five other districts, Sui Southern Gas Company spokesman Inayatullah Ismail said.

#2: A bomb in a marketplace in eastern Afghanistan killed a child on Thursday in part of the persistent violence across the country despite crackdowns on insurgent leaders, an official said. Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for Nangarhar province, said the blast occurred outside a music cassette shop in Jalalabad, the provincial capital 125 kilometers (77 miles) east of Kabul. Other civilians were injured, but were not taken to the hospital, he said.

#3: Eighteen people were killed and 15 wounded when a suicide bomber plowed his explosives-laden car into a police station in northwest Pakistan Wednesday, officials said. The bomber's car struck Miryan police station on the outskirts of the town of Bannu and badly damaged a nearby mosque. District police chief Mohammad Iftikhar told AFP most of those wounded were police officers and paramilitary personnel.

#4: A roadside bomb targeting police in northwest Pakistan killed one officer and wounded five others Thursday, close to the scene of a deadly suicide attack on security forces a day earlier. The officers were hit in their car while on patrol in the garrison town of Bannu, southwest of Peshawar city. One policeman has died and five others were wounded. It was a remote-controlled bomb," district police chief Mohammad Iftikhar told AFP by telephone.